


For Scientific Reasons

by theflowersofpower



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Entrapdak, F/M, Fluff, For Science!, Idiots in Love, My First Fanfic, Pining, WIP, not sure what this is, starts during season 3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:42:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24053839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theflowersofpower/pseuds/theflowersofpower
Summary: After Entrapta makes him new armour, Hordak begins to act... different. Entrapta wants to get to the bottom of this behavioural change - purely for scientific reasons! Meanwhile, Hordak struggles to understand his feelings towards his friendship with Entrapta.
Relationships: Entrapta/Hordak (She-Ra)
Comments: 24
Kudos: 159





	1. Friends

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first proper fanfic! Tell me what you think in the comments and share if you enjoyed!

Not a day had gone by in the Fright Zone where Entrapta and Hordak hadn’t been together. Almost every hour they had spent working on the portal machine, and productivity had certainly increased since Entrapta upgraded Hordak’s armour. She noticed that he didn’t become tired as easily as he had before, and he wasn’t distracted by his pain.

But he was still distracted by… something. 

Entrapta couldn’t read people. It was something she just couldn’t understand. It was a rare moment when she could understand what people were feeling – and having been Hordak’s friend for a while she was finally beginning to understand his emotions. It was obvious that there was something on his mind. He wasn’t looking at Entrapta the same way as before, and kept staring off into space, as if in thought. It was odd that Entrapta found herself curious to know what was making him like this. 

Well, it couldn’t be that odd, could it? She was a scientist, after all. She liked discovering things, so this was no different, right?  
“Fright Zone log day number… whatever,” she muttered into her recording device one morning, “I am about to head into Hordak’s sanctum to resume work on the portal machine. However, I have another goal in mind. I want… I need to find out what is occupying Hordak’s mind. His behaviour is… different, and I think it’s crucial that things go back to normal so… um… so I can feel better about it! Okay!”

Emily beeped and whirred next to Entrapta’s bed, and she smiled. “Don’t repeat that one, Em.”

While Entrapta was preparing herself for the day, Hordak was already at work in the sanctum. His knowledge of engineering had been very basic before, but he had learnt much from his time spent working with Entrapta and was able to make some progress in her absence. Alone with his thoughts, he was at work setting up the energy supply.

“Hm… no, these are uninsulated cables.” He said to himself.

Hordak immediately froze as soon as the words left his mouth. He never talked to himself… he never talked when there weren’t people in the room, people he was speaking to. That was something Horde Prime had taught them; don’t speak unless you have something important to say. So, why had he…  
That was something Entrapta would do. She was always babbling away to herself as she ran around the sanctum, tinkering on this and fixing up that. Hordak had always told himself it was annoying, but now here he was…

“Ugh.”

There was a thought on Hordak’s mind that he had been refusing to properly confront. He decided that now – while he was alone in the sanctum – was a good time to sit down and finally think about it.

Entrapta, ever since she’d arrived, had been a source of confusion for Hordak. She wasn’t afraid of him, for one, and she also had zero ill intentions. Hordak had been used to subordinates that cowered in his presence, and social climbers that were only nice to Hordak because of their ulterior motives. He had never encountered someone who was… friendly to him, and didn’t want anything out of him. Well, he thought Entrapta didn’t want anything out of him. Why would she? She was already so confident, and intelligent, and…

He was getting ahead of himself already. As far as Hordak was convinced, Entrapta was… a friend. She hadn’t tried to kill him when he passed out in front of her, so that was a good sign. But Hordak had never had a friend. He didn’t know how to act with Entrapta. He wanted to return her kindness somehow, but he didn’t have the right words. After all, he was built to lead armies, not exchange pleasantries. And yet, here he was.

It made Hordak wonder what was so different about Entrapta. Shadow Weaver had always been loyal and somewhat nice, if you could call it that. She was quite… cold, like him, so that could’ve made things easier, but it didn’t. Then there was Catra. Catra was a suspicious character, but she was motivated, and she was amazing at what she did. But Entrapta still stood out among them all. He had never considered Shadow Weaver or Catra friends. He had felt no sadness when he decided to cast Shadow Weaver out. He had felt no sadness when he decided to send Catra to the Crimson Waste. He had never felt anything during all those days he spent around those two. There had been anger, and there had been some form of pride, but there was never… joy? Happiness?

He felt happy when he was with Entrapta. 

Why was that so hard to admit? Was it wrong to feel happy because of a person?

Hordak brushed that thought aside for a second and continued on. Why did Entrapta make him happy when everyone else he had worked with hadn’t? Maybe it was her laugh. Shadow Weaver and Catra didn’t laugh when they were near him. Maybe it was her theories. He liked hearing them. He didn’t understand the planet as well as any regular Etherian and he appreciated Entrapta’s knowledge. Maybe it was… It was everything. 

He liked everything about her.

And she was the only person who had ever liked him. He knew his other subordinates didn’t like him – that much was obvious. They respected him, and feared him at the very least. But they didn’t like him.

Hordak remembered the moment he woke up in his sanctum after Entrapta saw him pass out. She had fetched him a blanket, and soup, and then… Then she had looked at him with a smile on her face. She told him that, yes, he was imperfect, but there was nothing wrong with that. She had built him a powerful exoskeleton that would manage his pain and allow him to stay productive. And why had she done all those things? It wasn’t as if it benefited her to compliment him. Yes, there was only one solution. She really did respect him as a friend.

It felt good to acknowledge that, but Hordak felt like he hadn’t scratched the itch in his mind. They were friends, yes. But could there be a chance of… No, no. He didn’t want to acknowledge that. It was a ridiculous thought that would only bring them both trouble.


	2. Too Close for Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Entrapta thinks she understands the problem. Hordak knows she doesn't, but who is he to stop her?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was too excited about writing this! Thanks for your support so far!  
> Please leave a comment if you have any thoughts; I'd be happy to hear them!

Hordak quickly stood up as he heard Entrapta entering, resuming his work on the power supply. He was careful not to look at her.

“Hi Hordak,” she said, in her usual bright tone, “I decided to stay up and do some research for our machine last night. I came up with some ideas that could really help us.”

He raised his eyebrows but didn’t turn around, “Impressive. But, you didn’t sleep?”

“Oh, it’s not the first time I’ve done this. Sometimes I just get carried away, you know?” she said.

Entrapta walked over to Hordak and stood next to him. She acted like she was trying to help set up the power supply, but she also wanted to try and get a look at his face. Though she didn’t get why, she had at least noticed that he wasn’t looking at her that morning.

Surely enough, when she approached, he got up and moved away. Had she done something wrong? 

He spoke suddenly from behind her, “It would serve you well to not skip out on your resting hours.”

Entrapta’s face scrunched up in confusion. Had she turned around; she would have probably seen Hordak’s shaky hands. It wasn’t that he cared about her well being, of course not! He just wanted to make sure she was fit and ready to work. That was all.

Still, Entrapta didn’t seem to pick up on this. Her mind raced as she finished with the cables. Was he telling her off? Well, he’d never done that before. She decided that she needed to get closer to him – purely so she could observe him! The best way to do that was to make him review her research.

“If you’d come over here, I want you to listen to my logs and discuss my ideas with me,” she said, moving to the table.

Hordak whipped around. Oh dear. When Entrapta asked him to do something, he couldn’t exactly bring himself to refuse. How exactly could he repress those crazy thoughts he’d been having if he had to stand right near her?

Reluctantly, he walked over to her. She clicked a few buttons on her recording device and put it down. Her voice suddenly filled the room.   
“As we established, our portal is powered and functioning, but refuses to properly activate. My theory is that there’s some sort of magical force causing this. Based on the planet’s history…”

Hordak zoned out as the recording continued. Normally, listening to Entrapta’s theories was something he… enjoyed? But today, something was catching him off guard. Entrapta was staring at him. He could see her doing this out of the corner of his eye, though he supposed she didn’t realise this.

Entrapta watched Hordak closely, monitoring him for any changes in behaviour. His red eyes remained transfixed on the recording device, but something about his demeanour was… wrong. Instead of his usual open and assertive stance, he seemed more closed off. His arms were crossed, for instance. And were his hands shaking? 

It finally clicked in Entrapta’s mind. The armour wasn’t working! He must still be in pain, and didn’t want to admit it! That could be the only explanation for his trembling, and his avoidance of her. 

He noticed her get closer as she tried to get a better look at the armour. Still, he did not turn his head. It didn’t mean anything – it couldn’t mean anything. That was just Entrapta’s way. Even so, Hordak could not stop his mind from racing.

When Entrapta noticed the shaking increase, her theory was all but confirmed in her mind. She felt a grand satisfaction at having figured out the problem. Finally, the recording stopped, and she made her move.

“As lab partners, good communication is key,” she announced.

Hordak started. What?! What did that mean? Did she know what he was thinking? No, she didn’t have those powers, right?

Entrapta continued, “I noticed a change in your behaviour recently, and I’ve reached a conclusion!”

Oh no. Oh no! Surely she hadn’t realised so quickly? He had to do something to save his pride.

“Whatever it is you think you’ve noticed…”

“Obviously, the armour I made you isn’t working at all! Your shaking indicates that you’re still experiencing high levels of pain!” she said.

…what?

Should he roll with that idea, or tell her the truth? The armour was working well, after all. He didn’t want her to waste her time making unnecessary changes. But if he told her that her conclusion was wrong, then maybe she would find out what the real cause for his attitude was.

He couldn’t let that happen… but to lie to Entrapta? To lie to the woman who had given him nothing but honesty? He hated deceit in any form. To take part in it would be wrong.

“I… haven’t…” he stuttered.

“Oh, you don’t have to hide the truth from me! Like I said, communication is key. Now, let’s get you fixed up,” Entrapta said.

Before his objection could escape his mouth, Entrapta wrapped her pigtails around him and dragged him to the workbench. The action took him by surprise. Well, she surprised him every time she touched him. Recently, it had been making him think that… No! Those thoughts were ridiculous.

He tried not to react as she took some tools and started inspecting different parts of the armour. Occasionally she would open a flap, make a tweak here and there… To no avail. He needed to come clean; they couldn’t waste their time like this.

Despite that thought, Hordak stayed still for a little longer, watching her work. Who was he to stop her if she found something that needed improving? In fact she might be totally correct – there was something wrong on the outside… something that may have been causing these odd happenings on the inside. Yes, that was it.

Entrapta started to feel increasingly confused as she continued her tinkering. Sure, there were a few things here and there that weren’t perfectly efficient, but nothing to indicate that the armour wasn’t functioning. 

As she moved closer to solder a piece of wire, Entrapta caught a glimpse of Hordak’s expression. He looked… curious, almost. And then, as soon as they made eye contact he looked away and-

Wait a second. Was he blushing?

So, he was embarrassed about something? What on Etheria could be embarrassing Hordak, of all people? He hadn’t even seemed embarrassed when she walked in on him having his armour removed, or when he woke up in a blanket after passing out.

In that moment, Entrapta became acutely aware of how close she was to him. She could feel his armour under her gloves. It was cold. Like she was in his presence but also a million miles away. Well, they had been standing close together before, hadn’t they? But now he was blushing and…

Hordak wanted to scream. For the past minute – though it seemed more like an hour – Entrapta had been completely still, resting her hand on his armour at his waist. She literally hadn’t moved or spoken. Had she found something there? Why wasn’t she doing anything about it, then? Why did she still have her hand there?! He felt his face grow hotter by the second.

“The armour’s not broken, is it?” Entrapta said.

She was looking up at him again. He shook his head.

Entrapta stood up and moved away from him. She’d come up with a new theory, but this one… It wasn’t something she could easily research. And besides, it was a ridiculous thought, right? She was just projecting – of course he didn’t really feel that way!

Still, she had to at least say something, “What’s the real problem then?”

“It’s nothing you need to be concerned about,” he said quickly, “Let’s resume our work.”

She frowned at him. Oh no… not that face. He knew exactly what was coming next.

“We’re lab partners. If there’s something wrong, you have to tell me!” she demanded.

“It is pointless, Entrapta,” he said, “I see no reason for letting something so inconsequential disrupt our work.”

“But you’ve been acting completely different! If I’m doing something wrong..”

In that moment, Imp swooped down, echoing Hordak’s words: “…you need to be concerned…”

Hordak glared at him as he settled down by Entrapta’s feet. That little traitor – of course he understood what was going on. Thank the stars he didn’t have anything incriminating to repeat back to her. 

“Imp agrees with me. What’s the matter, Hordak?” Entrapta said.

He clenched his trembling fists and turned away, then walked over to the portal wordlessly. Behind him, Entrapta crouched down to Imp.

“I don’t suppose you can tell me?”

Imp shook his head. Entrapta sighed.


	3. She Was Right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Entrapta has another theory about Hordak's behaviour.   
> This time, she's almost right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this one's a little short!  
> Thanks for all the support so far! Luv you guys <3

They resumed work on the machine in total silence. Neither of them were quite sure what to do – the portal appeared to have everything it needed, but was still refusing to activate. So, Entrapta busied herself making tweaks and collecting data, while Hordak stared at one of his vitrines. He’d given up on his cloning experiments ever since Entrapta had started helping him with the portal. But in times like these, he often wondered if he should continue them.

After Entrapta had made him his new armour, he’d believed that he was good enough. She’d made him see that. The armour kept him strong, despite his defects. It helped him stay stable. 

But on the inside… 

If Horde Prime had deemed him defective, then there was no arguing with that. There was a reason for these silly thoughts; it was the same reason that his body was crumbling in the first place. He was broken on the inside, too.

Entrapta saw Hordak staring at one of the failed clone bodies. It was quite a disturbing sight – an obviously alien looking creature with curled up limbs and a lifeless face. All of those experiments looked something like that.

The second realisation hit Entrapta all at once. The suit was working fine – he was still just worried about his imperfections. 

Well, she couldn’t have that. There was nothing wrong with being different. It was a beautiful thing, in fact! Entrapta wanted Hordak to see that. She wanted him to see that he was… beautiful.

She turned her head back to the machine and pulled her mask over her face. Her voice came out muffled, but loud enough for Hordak to hear – “There’s nothing wrong with you.”

Hordak’s eyes widened and he turned to her slowly, “What?”

Maybe she really could read his mind? 

“There have been times that I worried about not being normal, or fitting in the way I was supposed to. But at the same time, all that stuff is part of our identities,” she continued.

Identity. 

Hordak moved away from the vitrine and took a few furtive steps towards Entrapta.

“Being imperfect doesn’t make you a failure. It makes you beautiful,” she said.

And then Hordak was blushing again, and Entrapta was turning around and pushing her mask off her face. She, too, was blushing, but also smiling. As much as he wanted to, Hordak didn’t turn away. He held her gaze nervously. This wasn’t wrong. He wasn’t wrong. And Entrapta – she was right. Of course she was right.

Neither of them were too sure of how long they stood like that. After a while, Entrapta reached out and patted Hordak on the shoulder with her pigtail, then pulled the mask over her face again and resumed work. Hordak joined her.

He couldn’t deny it any longer. He… what was the word? He loved her? Was that correct? Well, it didn’t matter if it wasn’t. All he knew was that he liked her very much, and wanted to stay with her forever – if that was what she wanted, too.

All this time he’d tried to stamp on that thought, thinking it was shameful. But how could it be? It was just a part of who he was.

It still felt odd thinking things like that, though. Horde Prime had called him a worthless defect, and he was never wrong. Still… he had spent all this time trying to prove to Prime that he was worth something. It would do him some good to actually believe it.

Entrapta snuck a glance at the crystal she’d installed in Hordak’s armour. She’d picked that one for a reason. Though she didn’t fully understand the nature of her own feelings, and had no idea if Hordak even felt the same… it didn’t bother her. She’d figure it out. She was Entrapta. And she knew for certain that standing here, working on their machine together… it was nice. She liked it a lot. She liked him a lot, too.


	4. What's The Rush?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unwelcome interruption arrives, and Entrapta and Hordak have to face the reality of their situation.

The portal project appeared to have reached its conclusion. Catra had returned from the Crimson Waste with claims that Adora’s sword – the sword of protection – was the key they had been searching for. Catra had stolen the sword and kidnapped Adora. Everything had fallen into place.

But it had come at the worst possible time. 

Though Hordak had at first tried to deny it, his love for Entrapta had given him a new problem. He didn’t want to leave. Opening the portal would mean that Prime would find him and take him away. And he was quite sure that she didn’t want him to leave either. Entrapta didn’t communicate her feelings clearly all the time, but Hordak had understood.

“What’s the rush?” she’d said, almost breathlessly, “We’ll just keep working on it until it’s perfect.”

He wanted to do that. He wanted to stay and work on the portal with her forever. But now, Catra had brought the sword, and he suddenly felt like he’d betrayed Prime by even thinking of not returning to him. They had to complete the portal.

Entrapta felt this pressure too. She knew it was time for him to leave, but she just couldn’t wrap her head around it. He wouldn’t go, would he? But he had to…  
She focused her mind on the portal instead. When they were done with it, a whole new world of opportunities would be open to them – to her! New planets, new galaxies… she could make so much progress in her research, and start completely new projects!

So, the time came to put everything together.

They stood in Hordak’s sanctum. Entrapta was holding the sword, and Hordak was by her side.

“With the sword connected to the portal machine, we should finally be able to bypass the planetary interference,” Entrapta explained, “…I just have no idea how it works! Heh…”

Hordak smiled. Of course, this wasn’t an easy problem to solve, but her enthusiasm and casual disregard for setbacks often gave him hope and – 

What was that noise?  
He turned to his former force captain. There she was, tied up against a beam, struggling… loudly.

“Must she be here?” Hordak asked.

“Good question,” Entrapta said, “I’m not sure if we need the sword or if we need She-Ra too… Adora, you wouldn’t happen to know, would you?”

“No! And even if I did, I wouldn’t tell the horde,” she said.

“That’s okay! I like figuring stuff out.”

Entrapta, ever the optimist.

The traitor kept talking – “Please, Entrapta – you don’t want to do this!”

“Silence!” Hordak snapped, “Entrapta, begin.”

Entrapta felt a small twinge of uncertainty as she took the sword to the machine, but decided not to act on it. Meanwhile, Hordak felt his temper rising as Adora continued her protests.

“You!” she yelled, turning her attention to Hordak, “You took me away from my family when I was a baby! You lied to me my whole life… about the princesses, about Etheria… about who I am…”

Hordak had to chuckle at that. He’d never held a conversation with this girl, let alone lied to her about her identity. And as for stealing her from her family, he hadn’t done anything of the sort. He hardly remembered her, for that matter. Yes, she was She-Ra, he knew that well… but Adora had just been another force captain, another soldier under his command…  
But then… why was he getting that strange feeling of recognition?

He ignored this as he spoke, “I could not have lied to you about who you are, because I have never known nor cared about someone as inconsequential as you.”

There. That would shut her up.

Entrapta tried her best to drown out the noise as Adora continued to argue.

“You should care. Because I’m the one who’s gonna make sure you fail.”

Hordak and Entrapta snapped to attention at that last syllable. It hung in the air for an uncomfortable second. Entrapta turned to Hordak, but he’d already lost his temper.

“I will not fail,” he growled.

How dare she? He was not a failure. If Horde Prime were here, she’d surely eat those words.

“You have no power to stop me,” he continued, striding toward her, “I am opening that portal, and I am going to use your own sword to wipe out the rest of your pathetic rebellion, once and for…”

It was at that moment that his armour decided to malfunction and zap him. It was over quickly, but the damage was done. He was on the floor, showing his pain, his weakness, his defect… right in front of the enemy. He was a failure.  
Entrapta gasped and dropped everything to run over to him. She could fix this. She laid a reassuring strand of hair on his shoulder as he righted himself, but…

He swatted it away – “Get. It. To. Work.”

And then he was gone. Storming out the room in a tizzy.  
Entrapta stared at the floor. She wasn’t good at people… but, she’d thought that Hordak didn’t mind that. She’d messed it up again.  
Her attention was quickly stolen by the sword, which broke free of its wires and snapped into place in the centre of the portal.

The key was in place. There was no going back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm back! I have a few more chapter ideas, so I'm gonna keep this going. Get ready for angst :(


	5. Diverging Paths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hordak goes to clear his mind, and contemplates where his destiny will lead him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A super short one for ya! Just trying to move things along for now.

Hordak paced around in his private quarters – or rather, stomped around. It took him about a minute to snap out of his blind rage and process what had just happened. Regret started drifting in.

He sat down on a crate and rubbed his temples with his claws. This anger of his was proving to be a problem. He’d snapped at Entrapta. He’d seen the look of sadness on her face as he did so. And he hadn’t apologised.

Why did he care so much? Why did he love her? The portal was nearly done – it wouldn’t be long until they were apart forever. Having emotions like this… he was playing with fire, and soon he’d get burned. Not just by their separation, but by Horde Prime. Clones weren’t supposed to love.

Hordak took a deep breath and reminded himself of Entrapta’s words.   
Imperfection is beautiful.

She’d never wronged him before. Horde Prime had cast him aside, had deemed him a failure, and Entrapta… she had dismissed his judgement.   
Hordak knew that Entrapta was the smartest person he’d ever met. He decided, then, that he would place more faith in her from now on. No matter what happened, when he reunited with Horde Prime, he’d keep the woman he loved by his side. Surely his faultless, flawless brother would allow it. They could both be useful to him, right?

He stood up, ready to push down his doubt, re-enter the sanctum, and face his destiny. 

And while this was going on, Entrapta was on the threshold of consciousness. 

She was dimly aware of the hard metal beneath her. A whirring engine. The movements of a calm ocean, rocking whatever vessel she was aboard from side to side. Her head hurt… had she hit the floor? Every muscle in her felt tensed, every strand of hair on edge. She needed to… what? There was something important she had been meaning to do. She needed to tell Hordak something… and then Catra had been there…

Whatever it was that she had meant to say to Hordak, Entrapta got the sense she wouldn’t be doing it anymore. Now? Now, she was going nowhere fast. 

Entrapta’s last thought before she drifted back into unconsciousness was a theory, or just wild speculation... maybe she had wanted to tell Hordak she loved him.


End file.
